View full sizeThis is the view from the press box at Ladd-Peebles Stadium on Sunday, Jan. 6, 2012, before the GoDaddy.com Bowl between Arkansas State and Kent State. (Tommy Hicks/thicks@al.com)

Final: Arkansas State 17, Kent State 13 -- Arkansas State linebacker Qushaun Lee pulled down Kent State quarterback Spencer Keith on a fourth-down scramble at the ASU 20-yard line in the final minute of play to preserve the Red Wolves' lead. Arkansas State ran out the clock to post its first victory in a major-college bowl before an announced crowd of 37,913..

Fourth quarter, 4:50: Arkansas State 17, Kent State 13 -- The fourth quarter has featured four punts. Kent State gets the ball with 4:50 left to play on its 23-yard line.

Third quarter, 0:00: Arkansas State 17, Kent State 13 -- The team leading at the end of the third quarter has won 10 of the 13 GoDaddy.com Bowls. Two of the three comebacks needed double-overtime to be completed.

Kent State will have gthe ball at its 17-yard line when the final period begins.

Third quarter, 1:44: Arkansas State 17, Kent State 13 -- Arkansas State doesn't want to kick the ball to Kent State's Dri Archer. So the Golden Flashes started their scoring series at their 41-yard line after making a fair catch on the kickoff following Brian Davis' field goal.

Bruising running back Trayion Durham did most of the damage on the Kent State series, even picking up a first down on a 15-yard screen pass after a holding penalty pushed the Golden Flashes back.

Kent State had a first down on the Arkansas State 12, but had to settle for Freddy Cortez's 26-yard field goal.

Third quarter, 8:35: Arkansas State 17, Kent State 10 -- Arkansas State kept its scoring streak going by picking up a field goal on its first possession of the second half. After holding Kent State to a three-and-out to open the third quarter, Arkansas State got its drive off to an unusual start. Punt returner Rocky Hayes fumbled the Kent State kick (although the Golden Flashes were flagged for interference on the play). The Red Wolves declined that penalty, however, because Derek Keaton came out of the scramble for the ball and ran 24 yards to the Arkansas State 45.

The Red Wolves' drive stalled at the Kent State 7, and Brian Davis kicked a 25-yard field goal as he became the first Arkansas State kicker to score 100 points in a season.

Halftime: Arkansas State 14, Kent State 10: Kent State scored the first and last times it had the ball in the second quarter. Arkansas State finished with a flourish by scoring on its final two possessions of the first half.

The Red Wolves got the lead when quarterback Ryan Aplin found his rhythm, mainly on swing passes to his slot receivers out of the backfield. He completed 10 consecutive passes as Arkansas State marches 60 yards on nine plays and 88 yards on nine plays to score two touchdowns. The first ASU score came on Tennessee transfer David Oku's 10-yard burst up the middle, which tied the score. Aplin's 10th consecutive completion -- a 31-yard throw on the run to J.D. McKissic -- put Arkansas State in front.

Before his streak, Aplin had completed 3 of 8 passes for 25 yards. He picked up 112 yards on his 10 consecutive completions.

Dri Archer broke a 44-yard run on Kent State's first scoring series, and he capped the drive on a 16-yard double reverse with 12:10 left in the first half.

Freddy Cortez kicked a 42-yard field goal with 19 seconds left in the first half to cut Arkansas State's lead to 14-10.

Kent State converted a fourth-down run on its touchdown drive, but was only one of seven in third-down conversions in the first half. The Golden Flashes did outgain Arkansas State in the first half 199 yards to 178 yards.

Archer gained 75 yards on six carries and 19 yards on three receptions for Kent State in the first half. McKissic has seven receptions for 83 yards at halftime for the Red Wolves, giving him 99 catches for the 2012 campaign.

Second quarter, 0:19: Arkansas State 14, Kent State 10 --Kent State answered Arkansas State's go-ahead touchdown with a 42-yard field goal by Freddy Cortez. the Golden Flashes rushed down the field, going 34 yards on seven plays to set up the kick by the school's career scoring leader.

Spencer Keith accounted for 32 of the yards on completions to Matthew Hurdle and Dri Archer. But Arkansas State stepped up its pass rush, and Kent State had to settle for the field goal.

Second quarter, 1:13: Arkansas State 14, Kent State 7 -- Ryan Aplin's 10th consecutive completion -- a 31-yard throw on the run to J.D. McKissic -- sent Arkansas State into the lead. The play capped a nine-play, 88-yard drive as the Red Wolves scored on two straight possessions.

Second quarter, 5:40: Arkansas State 7, Kent State 7 -- Arkansas State finally found some life on offense, marching 60 yards in nine plays to tie the game on running back David Oku's 10-yard burst up the middle. Arkansas State quarterback Ryan Aplin completed all four of his passes on the touchdown march, with three going to freshman J.D. McKissic, who has broken the school single-season reception mark with his output in the first half.

Second quarter, 9:57: Kent State 7, Arkansas State 0 -- After Kent State's Freddy Cortez had to kick off from the Kent State 10-yard line, Arkansas Sate's Michael Gordon broke a 33-yard return that was one tackler away from going all the way back. However, on their first play in Kent State's end of the field, the Red Wolves lost yardage when quarterback Ryan Aplin was sacked by Dana Brown, and they were back in their half of the field when David Oku was dropped for a loss. Another sack of Aplin by Brown brought on another Arkansas State punt.

Second quarter, 12:10: Kent State 7, Arkansas State 0 -- Kent State speedster Dri Archer ran 16 yards on a double reverse for the first touchdown of the 2013 GoDaddy.com Bowl. Archer set up his touchdown with a 48-yard run to the Arkansas State 22. A holding penalty pushed Kent State back, but when the Golden Flashes' Spencer Keith tried to hit Archer with a pass down the middle in the end zone, Arkansas State was flagged for pass interference. On the next play, Archer swept into the end zone.

After the play, Kent State was called for personal-foul and unsportsmanlike conduct penalties and had to kick off from its 10-yard line.

First Quarter, 0:00: Arkansas State 0, Kent State: The second quarter will start with Arkansas State at its 33-yard line after a Kent State punt. The Red Wolves have dodged the only scoring threat of the game when Nathan Herrold intercepted a pass tipped by teammate Qushaun Lee in the end zone with the Golden Flashes on the ASU 3-yard line. Now the Red Wolves will try to get out of their end of the field for the first time in the game.

This is only the second scoreless first quarter in GoDaddy.com Bowl history. The first came in the 2007 game, which Southern Miss went on to win 28-7.

First Quarter, 6:52: Arkansas State 0, Kent State 0 -- Kent State marched 69 yards for a first down on the Arkansas State 1-yard line the first time that the Golden Flashes had the ball. But the Red Wolves stopped 250-pound Trayion Durham on consecutive runs, pushing him back to the 3-yard line, and linebacker Nathan Herrold intercepted Spencer Keith's tipped pass in the end zone with 6:52 left in the first quarter to turn back the threat.

The big play on Kent State's drive was a 32-yard run by Julian Durden. Arkansas State's Don Jones of Hazlewood caught Durden from behind to prevent the touchdown.

MOBILE, Alabama -- The GoDaddy.com Bowl matches Sun Belt Conference champion Arkansas State against Mid-American Conference East Division champion Kent State in the 14th annual game at Ladd-Peebles Stadium.

Arkansas State (9-3) enters the game on a seven-game winning streak. Kent State (11-2) set a school record for victories in a season, but enters the game off a double-overtime loss to Northern Illinois in the MAC championship game.

Arkansas State is under the direction of interim head coach John Thompson. The Red Wolves' defensive coordinator added to his duties when Gus Malzahn left for the top job at Auburn after the regular season ended. Kent State coach Darrell Hazell is coaching the Golden Flashes for the final time. He's been hired as the head coach at Purdue.

Each team will have its all-time leader in passing yards under center tonight, with Ryan Aplin for Arkansas State and Spencer Keith for Kent State.